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Both Ducati Team riders inside the top 10 on Day 1 of practice for GP of The Americas at Austin: Jorge Lorenzo seventh and Andrea Dovizioso eighth at the Texan track

Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso of the Ducati Team both finished the first day of practice for the GP of the Americas inside the top 10 at the Circuit of The Americas near Austin, Texas.

In the afternoon session all the MotoGP riders improved their times from the morning’s run: Lorenzo was seventh quickest with a lap of 2’05.487, while Dovizioso was one place down in eighth after a lap of 2’05.647.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 7th (2’05.486)
“After this first day of practice my sensations are certainly much better than Qatar and above all Argentina. In general the track is slower for everyone, but in the afternoon the surface was much cleaner, there was more grip, and we were all able to go quicker. My lap time is not bad, but I lost almost half-a-second when Nakagami crashed in front of me, otherwise I think that I could have got inside the top 5. We still have to improve and this will also depend on the weather that we will find tomorrow, but in any case if it rains we are already in Q2.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 8th (2’05.647)
“It was rather a difficult day and it’s a real shame that the surface of this fantastic track is ruined so much. This morning the track was still dirty, something that complicated our work even more, but in the afternoon we managed to improve enough. We haven’t got the right set-up yet, but we knew that we were going to struggle at this circuit and all things considered we’re not doing too badly. We must continue working on the set-up, and let’s hope we have the time tomorrow to do it because it looks like rain is on its way. In any case it’s positive to be already inside the top 10, so at least now we can approach things calmly.”